Article by Marius Mărgărit – Published Tuesday, 09 June 2026, 14:25 / Updated Tuesday, 09 June 2026 14:25
After the drastic reduction of the budget of CSA Steaua, by 30 percent compared to the previous year, all the sports sections are collapsing, because the discussions for the teams could not be started, especially for team sports.
In football there are only two players under contract, in handball only 5, in volleyball none. Only rugby is in a better situation, as the season is organized by calendar year and, at least until the end of that year, the players have contracts.
The problem was raised to give up the promotion, to stay in the second league
Budgets for each department have yet to be set, but managers have already been told they will be cut by more than 30%. Thus, from the approximately 1.5 million euros allocated to handball, it will most likely be less than half.
The news comes after the men's handball team managed to promote again in the first echelon.
Due to financial conditions, there was even the question of the team giving up this season's promotion. Because the allocated money would not allow the lot to be kept and would not guarantee the creation of a lot who can fight to stay in the National League.
Coach Ionuț Georgescu explained the situation. “It's a very difficult time for the club, with this budget cut. We only have 5 players left under contract, out of the 22 with which we achieved promotion.
And we were told that this year we will have much less money. For now, we don't even know exactly how many. Yes, there was the problem that we wouldn't be able to assemble a competitive team, but we believe we will succeed. And the management of the club promised us by the management that we will be registered in the National League.
We are trying to negotiate with some of the players who are at the end of their contracts, to accept a reduction compared to what they have had so far.
We have this nucleus of 5 players, we want to bring 3-4 more players and with some young people, who will make the step from the juniors, I think we can last in the first league. Because if we had stayed in the second league, it would have been even more difficult to assemble a team”, he told GSP.ro.
From the Champions Cup, to the specter of extinction
In Ghencea there is silence that breaks the eardrums. It should have been during this period that the teams were made, negotiations were held with the players, new contracts were signed, and the next season was prepared. However, the financial blockade closed everything.
Sources from the club claim that it is already too late, that Steaua will only be able to bring what will be left after the best athletes have already transferred at other clubs.
Handball is the most successful section in the club's history, with 28 titles, two Champions Cups (1968, 1977), two finals (1971, 1989), and three semi-finals (1970, 1975, 1986). In addition, Steaua also won the Challenge Cup in 2006, but was twice a semi-finalist in the EHF Cup (1993, 1994) and once in the Cup Winners' Cup (2010).
And now, the team that only 6 years ago was ranked 12th in the all-time history of this sport, according to the number of performances, has reached the brink of extinction. Because it is hard to believe that even the few players who still have sports activity contracts will accept their reduction. For now, there is only confusion and uncertainty in Ghencea.
